Fresh search for Madeleine McCann to begin near to where she was last seen
Search efforts will restart near where Madeleine McCann was last seen 18 years ago in Portugal.
The fresh searches are due to start tomorrow between Praia da Luz and a house near the holiday resort, where the principal suspect, Christian Brueckner, used to live.
A Portuguese source said the operation will begin tomorrow, but said some preparation work may take place beforehand.
He added: ‘They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body.’
Around 20 properties, cisterns, wells, and ruins will be ‘combed with a fine-tooth comb, sources told Portuguese news channel SIC Noticias.
Madeleine was three when she vanished on May 3, 2007. She would have celebrated her 22nd birthday last month.
German police have reportedly requested the searches, which come after a string of unsuccessful efforts in the past, including at a reservoir about 40 minutes away where Brueckner was known to visit.
They were the first major searches in Portugal for Madeleine McCann in nine years, following an earlier June 2014 operation when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.
Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.
They also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster’s whereabouts.
In a smaller operation in July 2020, Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her.
Brueckner remains in prison in Germany where he is serving a seven-year term for the rape of an American tourist, which is nearing its end.
However, the 48-year-old convicted paedophile could be kept behind bars longer after new accusations of offences against prison officers while being locked up.
Maddie’s family said on the anniversary of her disappearance on May 3: ‘No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day.
‘We continue to “celebrate” her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her.’
Timeline since Maddie's disappearance
- May 3, 2007: Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while they dine with friends. They check on their children three times throughout the night, and, at 10pm, they find her missing
- May 14, 2007: Police take property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him a formal suspect – this is later withdrawn.
- August 11, 2007: 100 days after her disappearance, detectives acknowledge that she could be dead.
- September 7, 2007: Maddie’s parents become formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.
- September 9, 2007: The McCanns return to England with their two-year-old twins.
- July 21, 2008: Portuguese authorities shelve the investigation and remove the McCanns and Murat as suspects.
- May 12, 2011: Kate McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance on her eighth birthday
- April 25, 2012: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive and release a picture of how she may look as a nine-year-old. They ask Portuguese police to reopen the case, but they say they have found no new information.
- July 4, 2013: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation and says it has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
- October 24, 2013: Portuguese police decide to reopen the case
- January 29, 2014: British detectives fly out to Portugal
- June 3, 2024: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
- December 12, 2024: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.
- June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
- September 16, 2014: The Government states that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance has so far cost £10 million
- October 28, 2014: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.
- April 30, 2017: The McCanns mark 10 years since her disappearance with a BBC interview.
- May 3, 2019: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.
- June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
- April 21, 2022: Christian Brueckner is made a formal suspect by Portuguese authorities.
- October 11, 2022: Brueckner is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine’s disappearance.
- May 3, 2023: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance by saying she is “still very much missed” and that they ‘await a breakthrough’.
- May 22, 2023: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching on May 23.
- May 23, 2023: Searches begin with police divers in the water and officers with sniffer dogs and rakes seen on the banks.
- June 23, 2023: A man named Helge B claimed to the German newspaper Bild that Brueckner almost confessed to killing Maddie, allegedly telling him ‘she didn’t scream’ when the pair talked about the case at a music festival
- July 11, 2023: The German prosecutor involved with the case warns not to ‘expect too much’ from the search.
- February 16, 2024: Brueckner’s trial starts over three counts of alleged rape and sexual abuse of two children not connected to the Madeleine investigation
- October 8, 2024: He is acquitted of all the allegations due to ‘insufficient’ evidence. An appeal over the acquittal is launched, which is still ongoing
- March 27, 2025: A 60-year-old woman is charged with stalking the McCann family
- May 3, 2025: Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance with a heartbreaking message
- September 17, 2025: This is the date Brueckner could be released from prison if no further charges are brought
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